This week, we discuss the linear model as a general purpose tool for conditioning on confounding variables and recovering causal estimands. We will highlight the strengths and limitations of this approach, and show how to estimate the model’s parameters using matrix algebra.
Slides
3D Plots
Some three-dimensional plots illustrating the “plane of best fit”.
Reading Assignments
Next week, we discuss a set of methods that don’t require you to catalogue every possible back door path and close it. Please read up on:
Problem Set
No problem set this week. Enjoy!